Tape dispenser



Aug- 23, 1952 s. DoMl-:NY 3,050,853

TAPE DISPENSER Filed Sept. 26, 1960 55 VENToR.

3,050,853 TAPE DISPENSER Steven Domeny, Chicago, lll., assigner to Crane Packing Company, Morton Grove, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 26, 1960, Ser. No. 58,343 7 Claims. (Cl. .S0-131) This invention relates to dispensers for tape or ribbon made of material which is resilient and therefore difficult to tear.

It is an object of this invention to provide a tape dispenser equipped with a sharp cut-off device, said dispenser `being portable `so that it can be carried about by a workman, but which, nevertheless, is constructed in a manner to safeguard the workman against injury from the cut-off device.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a combination receptacle and cut-olf tool for tape wherein the cut-off tool is made from a minimum number of parts and without the use of pin-type hinges.

As a specific object, this invention has within its purview the provision of a cut-off tool adapted to be mounted on a receptacle and forming a part of the enclosure thereof, said cut-oft tool comprising two simple inter-iitting stampings.

Another specific object of this invention is to provide a tape dispenser for tapes of the non-tacky variety but which possess suflicient resilience and toughness to resist tearing, said dispenser including as a part thereof a shear device, with means for resiliently maintaining a pressure Von the cooperating parts of the shear device in a direction transverse to that in which the shearing action takes place, and with means `for protecting the user of the device from injury through contact with the cutting edges thereof.

Itis also among the general objects of this invention to provide a transparent dispenser for tapes of the nontacky and resilient type through which the amount of tape available may be readily determined and into which a fresh supply of tape may be readily inserted. Ease of assembly of `the cutting device, economy of manufacture through simplicity of design and reasonable life are also general objects of this invention.

For purposes of illustration, this invention will be described with reference to its application to rolls of a tape of verythin cross section made from a material sold under the trade name `of Teflon by du Pont de Nemours Company, Wilmington, Delaware, and technically known as polytetraiiuoroethylene. Such tape may be only a few thousandths of an inch thick and under an inch in width. This invention, however, may also be used with tapes vmade from rubber compounds.

A typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is -a perspective view of a receptacle made in accordance with this invention and showing a roll of tape within the receptacle and an end of 4the tape passed through the shearing device;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the Areceptacle of FIG. 1 on an enlarged scale, showing principally the shearing device in an inoperative position; FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational View of the receptacle similar to that of FIG. 2, but showing the shearing device in an operated condition;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of ythe shearing device of the receptacle of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational View of the shearing device of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is an elevational view in section of the shearing device in its operated condition as shown in FIG. 3, the section being taken along line 6 6 and in the direction of the arrows at the ends thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1, the receptacle may take the form Patented Aug. 28, 1962 of a rectangular box 10, one side 11 of which is hinged at 12 and 13 to the end wall 14 of the box along one edge thereof and is secured to the opposite end wall 15 by a clasp 16. Box 10 is preferably made of transparent material so that its contents may be readily observed. For purposes of economy the box and its hinged side 11 are made from a ltransparent molded plastic material which not only minimizes the machining and assembly problems involved in the manufacture of the box, but also provides the box with resistance to shock so that it may be dropped or otherwise roughtly -treated without appreciable damage to itself. It is contemplated that other shapes than the rect-angular one may be adopted, and that the invention is not intended to be limited to the shape shown.

The top of the receptacle as viewed in FIG. l has an elongated opening 53 thereinto. Itis contemplated that a roll 17 of tape will be retained in the box, the width of the end walls 14 and 15 being larger than the width of the roll. The free end 1S of roll 17 is passed through the opening 53 n the top of the box Where it may be seized and pulled to unwind a desired length of tape from the roll.

The tape is unwound from roll 17 as shown at 19 and after being threaded through opening 53, passes through a shearing device shown generally at 20 which is mounted over the top of the receptacle and from which the free end 18 extends. Said shearing device is comprised of two principal parts, namely, a stationary cover 21 and an oscillatable shearing blade 22 (FIG. 2)

Stationary cover 21 is comprised of a unitary stamping having a substantially flat top 23 and depending sides or iianges 24, 25 which t snugly over the opposed sides of the box 11i, including the hinged side 11. Both cover 11 and the side 54 (FIG. 6) opposite cover 11 have peripheral beads 55 and 56 respectively, which run under cover 21. inwardly directed bosses 57 on flanges 24V and 25 are designed to latch under beads 55, 56 to hold the cover in place over the top of box 10. When cover 21 isthus mounted on box 10 it serves to hold the hinged side 11 in closed position.

One end 26 of cover 21 is Ibent upwardly and notched as shown in FIG. 5 at 27, said notch being V-shaped at its bottom to provide two ysloping edges 28 and 29. The sloping edges 23 and 29 constitute the lower iixed shear element of the device.'

Top 23 has a substantially rectangular opening 30 :formed therein, `said opening having a rear edge 31 and a forward edge 32. The side edges 33 and 34 are formed by the sides of elongated spring fingers 35 and 36, respectively, which extend from a region adjacent rear edge 31 forward to the forward edge 32. Said spring fingers 35 and 36 are formed to take the shape in their free state shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2 at 36a so as to exert normally an upward force when bent down into the plane of top 23. Said fingers 35 and 36, being formed integrally with Istationary cover 21, are stamped out as, for example, in a progressive die in an automatic punch press. 'I'he function of the spring iingers will be described hereinafter.

At the rear of stationary cover 21 are formed additional spring fingers 37, 3S which are of idential form and are curved first downwardly from the plane of top 23 and then horizontally and upwardly in a smooth curve as shown n dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3 to terminate in an upwardly extending end region 39 and a horizontally extending end 40 to form forwardly facing hooks. These hooks, due to the curvature of the spring fingers 37 and 38, provide Ia fore-and-aft force, the purpose of which will likewise be made apparent hereinafter.

Spring lingers 37 and 38 are preferably made integral with `stationary cover 21 by stamping operations in the aforesaid progressive die in an automatic press.

Oscillatable shearing blade 22 is `a stamping having a flat upper surface 41 over the rear, side and front regions thereof and with a depressed area 42 disposed for the most part over -the opening 30 in the stationary cover 21, the depressed area 42 and flat surface 41 being separated at the rear by a slot 43. A somewhat narrower slot 44 separates the forward edge of the depressed area 42 and the forward Portion 45 of the shearing blade. The extreme forward edge 46 of the yforward portion 45 is made to conform to the shape of the rear surface 47 of the upstanding end 26 of the cover 21. Said extreme forward edge 46 forms the cutting -edge of the o'scillatable shearing blade and cooperates with the sloping edges 28 and 29 on stationary cover 21 to form a shear for cutting olf tape disposed -between the stationary and oscillatable portions of the shearing device.

The rear edge 48 of the oscillatable shearing blade 22 engages the under sides f the forwardly extending ends 49 of the spring lingers 37 and 38, while the sides of said oscillatable shearing blade overlie spring fingers 35 and 36. The latter exert an upwa-rd force upon oscillatable shearing blade 22 which imparts an upward movement thereto. The upwardly bent end 26 of cover 21 terminates in spaced tabs 58 and 59 extending upwardly adjacent the outer ends of sloping surfaces 28, 29 and then backwardly to form stops 49 and 50. Said stops are engaged by shearing blade 22 and determine the upper limit of movement of said blade.

The length of oscillatable shearing blade 22 between rear edge 48 and extreme .forward edge 46 is slightly larger than the distance between surface 47 and the righthand surface, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3, of the upwardly extending region 39 on spring fingers 37 and 38 when the Vlatter are in their free state. Therefore, when oscillatable shearing Iblade 22 is inserted between spring fingers 37, 38 on the one hand andsurface 47 on the stationary cover 21, the said spring lingers 37, 38 are extended to the rear of the device and thus exert a force upon shearing blade 22 in la forward direction yto hold the cutting edge 46 of the oscillatable shearing blade against surface 47 adjoining the sloping edges 28 and 29 `forming the stationary portion of the shearing device. This constant pressure insures a clean-cutting action between -the two parts of the shearing device. For ease of production, it may be desirable to bend the spring fingers 37 and 38 after shearing blade 22 has been inserted between end 26 and said fingers.

Oscill-atable shearing blade 22 is held against crosswise movement relative to fixed or stationary cover 21 by side flanges 51 -and 52 which extend downwardly from the plane of the at surface 41 on opposite sides thereof to overlie the depending sides 24 and 25 of the stationary cover 21. Inasmuch as the for-ward end of the oscillatable shearing blade 22 is 4adapted to assume a raised position relative to the stationary cover 21 in the manner shown in FIG. 2 wherein the side anges 511 and 52 are out of contact at the forward end with the depending sides 24 and 25, additional guiding effect is obtained by causing said anges `51 and 52 to extend forwardly beyond upstanding end 26 so that the sides of said upstanding end `are engaged by side anges 51 and 52 and guide said anges during the critical movement of the oscillatable shearing blade over the sloping edges 28 and 29 of the stationary portion of the shearing device.

The unwound portion 19 of the roll of tape 17 is passed from the roll through opening 30 in stationary cover 21 and through slot 43 over the depressed area 42 of the oscillatable shearing blade and thence through the narrower slot 44 under the extreme forward edge 46 of the oscillatable shearing blade 22. It may be pulled upwardly beyond edge 46 as lfar as necessary to provide the length of tape to be severed.

` To sever the desired length from the roll after the tape has been threaded through the oscillatable cover, it is only necessary to press the oscillatable cover down against the resilient action of spring lingers 35, 36. The downward movement will be arrested when the depressed region 42 strikes the forward portion of the at top of the stationary cover 21 -adjacent end 26. During the downward motion, the movable and stationary portions of the shearing device will have their cutting edges in intimate contact Iwith one another to give a clean cut. Release of the oscillatable shearing blade permits it to spring upwardly against stops 49 and 50. A rapid movement has been found to be most satisfactory. The sloping edges 28 and 29 provide a progressive cutting action in accordance with accepted shearing practice.

When the next length of tape is to be severed, the portion of @tape overlying depressed region 42 is moved forward as, for example, by the users thumb as shown in FIGURE 1 until the free edge Ithereof extends far enough beyond upstanding end 26 to be grasped by the other hand of the user whereupon the tape is then pulled outwardly until the desired length is measured olf and said length is then severed by the rapid depression of the oscillatable shearing blade 22.

Due to the pliability of the tapes with which the present device may Ibe used, the' unsupported end of the tape under the forward portion of the blade 22 may bend downwardly so that forward movement of the tape by the users thumb merely causes the said end to curl under the blade where it cannot be 'grasped and guided over the lower shear blade. This condition is readily obviated by the use of a support comprising a section of plastic material 60 which is secured to the underside of the forward region of blade 22 in spaced relation lthereto. The tape is inserted into said space and is held against curling or falli-ng by said support 60.

The amount Iof tape remaining on roll 17 is readily visible through the transparent material of box 10 and when it is completely exhausted, stationary cover 21 is removed from the box to enable the hinged side 11 to be swung open. A roll of tape is then inserted into the receptacle with the free end of the tape extending out of 'the lopening in the top provided therefor, the hinged side 11 is closed, and the free end of the tape is threaded through opening 31 in stationary cover 21 and opening 43 in the oscillatable shearing blade 22. Stationary cover 21 is then pressed into place over the open end of box 10 and the free end of the tape is passed over depressed region 42, rthrough narrow slot 44 and over support 60 out beyond upstanding end 26.

Tapes of varying widths up to the width of the depressed region 42 may be used with a `given box. Also, tapes of various compositions may be used, provided, however, that the side of the tape immediately adjacent depressed area 42 is not coated with a tacky substance. Thus, tapes made of rubbery material (though having a low coeicient of friction) as -well as cloth tapes or ribbons may be readily housed in box 10 and dispensed therefrom through the shearing device 20.

It may be observed that shearing device 20, since it is made `of only three parts, represents the ultimate in simplicity, particularly in view of the Afact that no pin type hinge is used `and hence an albsolute minimum in assembly time is required to assemble said shearing devlce.

It is understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention and that the scope of the invention is not to be limited thereto but is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tape dispenser comprising a container adapted to holda roll of tape, said container having an opening thereinto, a cover for the opening, said cover having an opening therethrough in substantial alignment with the opening in the container to allow tape from said roll to pass to the exterior of the cover, a lower shear blade on the cover, an upper shear blade cooperating with the lower shear blade to cut a segment of tape from said roll, means hingedly mounting the upper shear blade on the cover for movement past the lower shear blade, a pair of spaced openings through the upper shear blade .through which the tape is threaded, resilient means in compression between the cover and upper shear blade tending to separate the shear fblades, stop means on `the cover limiting separation of the shear blades, and resilient means on the cover urging the blades laterally against one another.

2. A tape dispenser as described in `claim 1, said tape being -threaded Ithrough said openings in the upper shear blade in a manner to =leave the free end of the tape under the said upper shear blade, and means on `the underside of the shear blade `directing the said free end of the tape toward the lower shear blade.

3. A tape dispenser `as described in claim 1, said tape being threaded through said openings in the upper shear blade in a manner lto @leave the free end of the tape under the said upper shear blade, and means secured to the underside of the upper shear blade adjacent the lower shear -blade and defining a slot with the upper shear blade through which the said free end of the tape is threaded and `directed to the lower shear blade.

4. A tape dispenser as described in claim 1, said lower shear lblade extending upwardly from the cover and said means on the cover limiting separation of the shear blades comprising a tab extending upwardly from the end of the lower shear blade and then backw'ardly over the for- Ward end of the upper shear blade.

5. A tape dispenser as described in claim 1, said upper shear blade having downwardly extending flanges adapted to embrace the cover therebetween and thus to be guided by said cover.

6. A tape dispenser as described in claim 1, said lower shear blade having tabs extending upwardly from the ends thereof, and said upper shear blade having ilanges extending forwardly past the tabs and embracing the tabs to Ibe guided thereby.

7. A tape dispenser as described in claim 1, said resilient means on the cover urging the blades laterally against one another comprising spring ngers on the cover having upwardly and forwardly extending end regions engaging the upper shear blade and serving as the hinged mounting for ythe upper shear blade.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,532,602 Ritchie Apr. 7, 1925 1,590,942 Harris June 29, 1926 1,883,831 Stratton Oct. 18, 1932 2,544,784 Frum Mar. 13, 1951 

